“Geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.” (National Curriculum)
Aims:
At Roseberry Primary School, our Geography curriculum is designed to inspire children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. We aim to provoke thought and questions, firstly about their own locality and increasingly, about other parts of the United Kingdom, Europe and the wider world – enabling children to draw comparisons about their lives and heritage along with those of others developing a sense of self and the knowledge about what makes Billingham and the North East special and unique.
Through high quality teaching, our geography curriculum aims to:
- Develop an extensive base of geographical knowledge and vocabulary
- To develop children’s understanding of how the human and physical features of a place shape its location and can change over time
- To enable children to know and locate the key towns and cities in the United Kingdom and the wider world
- To know and understand the key geographical features and land use in the United Kingdom and the wider world
- Make greater sense of the world by organising and connecting information and ideas about people, places, processes and environments, e.g. locating France and other French speaking countries when teaching French
- Provide children with the recognition that there is life and opportunities beyond Billingham and the aspiration they need to aim high and challenge themselves to achieve great things in the future whether that means a job or travel
- Promote children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development helping them to have a greater understanding of their place in the world, and their right and responsibilities to other people and the environment
- Support the application of the core subjects of English and mathematics
How is the geography curriculum delivered?
At Roseberry Primary School the geography curriculum is built around a progressive framework that ensures knowledge and skills are firmly embedded in children’s long-term memory. We want our pupils to explore the world we live in through field work as well as provoke thought and questions. The importance of all children knowing about their own locality and heritage as well as comparing it to different places around the world is showcased across all areas of school.
- The geography curriculum begins in Early Years with children learning about their immediate environment and the wider world through stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
- Teachers plan and expose children to specific geographical vocabulary through tier words
- Children interpret a range of geographical sources including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) (software and interactive resources)
- Children collect, analyse and present a range of data, gathered through experiences of fieldwork, to deepen understanding of geographical processes
- Educational visits support learning outside of the classroom. At Roseberry, children have opportunities to explore the local area including within the school grounds, in our outdoor learning areas.
- Trips beyond the immediate area are used to provide new experiences and deepen knowledge and understanding e.g. walk along River Tees supports understanding of a river’s features and the opportunity to see a waterfall at first hand
- Use of the virtual world is used to enhance children’s real life experiences and develop their cultural capital
- Technologies are used to support and complement learning (including home learning and tailored learning in the classroom) for all pupils including those with SEND
- Children are actively involved in designing and shaping their curriculum so that their interests are encouraged and promoted
- Lessons are ambitious and designed to give all pupils, including disadvantaged and pupils with SEND, access to the knowledge and skills needed to make progress across the geography curriculum
- Cross curricular opportunities are used to develop and consolidate pupil’s learning in other areas of learning
- Rights are referenced and when appropriate, links can be made to geographical learning and understanding
- Children are encouraged to answer their own questions through enquiry based learning either independently or when working collaboratively with their peers
What will be achieved?
The strong teaching in Early Years supports and guides pupils to understand their locality, the wider world and concepts including the changing weather and seasons. In KS1 and KS2, children retain knowledge that is relevant to geography with a real-life context. They have a deep understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes and how this affects landscapes and environments around the world. Children understand how human and physical processes impact on their local area and beyond, and consequently on their futures. Increasingly, children act as good citizens within their own community and are keen to address issues such as Global Warming. Children work collaboratively to solve problems and explain the processes they have used. Pupils are able to speak about geographical ideas using age appropriate and content specific vocabulary confidently and with interest. Teachers and other adults support pupils with additional needs so that they can access the same content and are fully inclusive to the provision.